Aquatic products from Japan. Photo:VCG

China will ban import of aquatic products from Japan starting from Thursday in order to prevent any contaminated food from entering China in order to protect Chinese consumers, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said on Thursday.

The administration said that the decision is made to comprehensively prevent radioactive contamination on imported food, with Japan set to dump Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the ocean starting from Thursday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing on Thursday that China firmly opposes and condemns Japan's actions and has lodged stern representations with the Japanese side, asking Japan to stop its dangerous move.

"The Chinese government has always put people first, and will take all necessary measures to maintain and protect food security and the public health," Wang said.

"Regardless of the strong doubt and opposition from international community, the Japanese government continues its headstrong push toward dumping of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean. Chinese customs attach high importance to potential radioactive contamination on food and agricultural products that Japan exports to China," an official from GAC said in a separate statement on Thursday.

In order to prevent nuclear contaminated Japanese food from entering the country and protect the health of Chinese people, GAC has carried out continuous evaluation of risk over radioactive contamination for Japanese food and has tightened supervision measures on food imported from Japan to strictly ensure food security, the official said.

GAC will continue to monitor Japan's actions and will adjust relevant import policies as the situation develops, so as to prevent radioactive contamination risks from impacting the Chinese people's health and protect food safety, the official noted.

In the first seven months of 2023, China imported 234.51 million yuan ($32.3 million) worth of Japanese aquatic products, down 29 percent year-on-year, according to data released by GAC.

Global Times